381: disaster

Boom! The meteorites continued to fall, and Chang'an City vanished into a sea of fire once again. But just a moment before Chang'an disappeared, Pigsy and the others saw a streak of light flying into the sky!

I think I understand what's going on now...

Before the next Rebirth, Pigsy had already figured something out. When his figure appeared in the Du Xin Domain, he soared into the air and shouted, "Don't ask any questions! Follow me and use your strongest attacks to tear through the clouds in the sky..."

Although the Junior Brothers and Junior Sister didn't understand what was happening, he was, after all, the one who had joined the sect the earliest among them, so his words still held a certain authority. If he gave such a strange command, it could only mean that he knew something they didn't!

No need to ask; just follow orders!

Little White Dragon suddenly transformed into his true form, emitting endless cold air. The massive white Dragon soared into the sky, churning the clouds into chaos. Sha Wujing entered his battle state, with a hundred Flying Swords at his side, piercing countless holes through the clouds.

Wu Zhen's attack was much more subtle, but small whirlwinds constantly circled around her, carrying her up into the clouds. These tiny currents of Qi actually combined with the air convection to form a tornado, tearing a large gap in the clouds.

The most exaggerated display came from Pigsy. Suddenly, the sixteen-foot Dharma form of the Pure Altar Messenger appeared behind him, holding the golden Nine-toothed Rake. The moment the rake swung out, it tore a massive rift five or six hundred meters long through the clouds. And that wasn't all; in the hands of the Dharma form, the rake seemed to generate a strange magic, pulling down large amounts of dark clouds from the torn area, as if his rake possessed endless gravitational force.

The four of them joined forces, instantly throwing the entire sky into chaos. The thick dark clouds above Chang'an City instantly turned into cotton-like masses, gradually eroding away.

Twelve massive meteorites hidden behind the clouds suddenly revealed their true forms. However, their black shells had no flames; they were pitch black. Once the clouds dispersed, these meteorites all turned into phantoms and vanished without a trace.

Old Pig finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the Junior Brothers and Junior Sister around him were still confused.

I'll explain once we meet His Majesty the Emperor!

Pigsy smiled and led the group toward the southern city wall.

Sure enough, Li Chengqian was sitting on the battlements, watching them approach with a smile.

I knew someone among you would be able to understand my hint!

Li Chengqian said, "Otherwise, I would have had a breakdown!"

Old Pig nodded. "Your Majesty, how did you spot the flaw?"

It was actually just Luck. I just felt that the entire dream world was based on reality, and everything was exactly the same as the outside world, except for this large patch of black clouds which seemed very abrupt. Since those terrifying meteors appeared from the clouds, I guessed the trick was hidden within them! Li Chengqian said in a deep voice. "This must be the work of that Darwin fellow; his goal is to make everyone in the dream have a breakdown!"

I suspect so too, but..." Old Pig said gravely, "But what is the point of him doing this? Given that old fox's cunning nature, he wouldn't do something meaningless and without profit!"

Have you noticed that you can feel pain in this dream?" Wu Zhen suddenly said in a low voice. "Just now, when the meteorites fell, I truly felt that terrifying scorching heat... It was like the power of Hell, capable of melting a person's body and Soul! If it weren't for my physical body and the cultivation of Buddha Dharma, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to endure it at all!"

Pigsy nodded and said, "I felt it too, and I believe the Junior Brothers felt it as well. However, our cultivation is deeper than yours, so the sensation wasn't as intense... Hmm, Your Majesty, what about you?"

I didn't feel a damn thing, other than terror and fear!

Li Chengqian curled his lip and said, "It must be because I have the imperial jade seal protecting me. With such Luck, I shouldn't feel any pain... Hmm, but it's different for those Mortal commoners. They... I can almost intuitively feel that their bodies and Souls are suffering inhuman torture!"

Everyone fell silent instantly. Before long, the sounds of battle below the city wall caught their attention again. It turned out that the Great Tang army had already beaten the Yao Race army into retreat, forcing them back into the forest dozens of miles outside the city edge.

However, even though the Great Tang army had won the battle, no one from top to bottom wore a happy expression.

Fortunately, the Great Tang military discipline was strict, and Cheng Yaojin, Qin Shubao, and the others were all skilled in commanding troops, so they quickly gathered their forces and retreated back into Chang'an City once they came to their senses.

We have already experienced meteorite attacks like this countless times...

When they met Li Chengqian, Qin Shubao said to the group, his eyes full of helplessness and bitterness, "If you hadn't broken this trap, I'm afraid everyone in Chang'an would have... would have had a breakdown!"

I have a question. Why are you still able to fight those monsters so fiercely under these circumstances where you perish every single time?

Li Chengqian frowned and asked, "Old General Qin, what exactly is going on here?"

The generals couldn't help but lower their heads, not knowing what to say. General Xue Rengui, standing to the side, helplessly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, it's not that we want to fight, but... it seems there is a force in the dark controlling us to fight... If we don't take action... the speed and frequency of the falling meteorites will be even faster!"

What?

Everyone could hardly imagine such a terrifying scene.

A meteorite attack every dozen seconds or so, a sense of destruction every dozen seconds... This was truly a nightmare from Hell.

Then... when the meteorites fall, how do you feel? Is it very painful, or...

Wu Zhen looked at the generals with some pity.

This young Master is right!

Cheng Yaojin said helplessly, "We can all feel the pain—being scorched by flames, having our bodies crushed by meteorite fragments. Every time, we feel the pain; every time is like a journey that pushes the limits of our Souls... If you hadn't appeared, I think we would have collapsed long ago. We old generals are all tempered on the line between life and death, but under these circumstances, we almost wish we could just die immediately. It's hard to imagine what the ordinary commoners of Chang'an feel while experiencing all this!"

The whole scene fell into silence again!

Cheng Yaojin was right. If even they couldn't bear it, what about the ordinary commoners?

What a Darwin, actually playing such an insidious trick... But... other than torturing people, this brings him no benefit at all!

Pigsy said in a deep voice, "What exactly is he trying to do?"

Just as he finished speaking, the ground suddenly shook. Everyone thought the meteorites were coming again and looked up, but immediately after, the entire world seemed to shake. Houses began to collapse, the ground began to sink, and a huge rift split from the South Gate all the way to the East Gate. Even the entire Daming Palace seemed to be split in half from the middle, and then... the entire city of Chang'an sank beneath the ground, as if it were about to enter the Eighteen Levels of Hell...